Inspire Rock County system goes live

JANESVILLE--Rock County 5.0 released an Inspire Rock County promotional video Thursday, officially signaling that the web-based career preparation and readiness platform is available for public use.

By integrating career development tools, social media elements and workforce data to help connect job creators, students, educators and parents.

Publicly announced six months ago, the Inspire project represents a collaborative effort Rock County 5.0, the Southwest Workforce Development Board, the K-16 education system and the county's business community.

James Otterstein, Rock County's economic development manager, said outreach efforts and the response to them has been positive, So far, he said:

-- More than 50 Rock County companies representing various sectors have committed to participate in the project.

-- Nearly 130 work-based learning activities have been entered into the system.

-- About 50 volunteers have stepped forward to serve as virtual career coaches.

-- More than 200 K-16 staff members, ranging from guidance counselors to career and technical education instructors, have been trained on the career preparation and readiness platform. A number of staff piloted the Inspire system during the summer months.

Rock County 5.0 is a five-year public/private economic development initiative designed to reposition and revitalize Rock County's economy. The initiative's efforts are focused on business retention and expansion, business and investment attraction, small business and entrepreneurship, real estate positioning and workforce profiling.